Technology is clearly becoming a natural part of our lives – whether we speak about smartphones, smartwatches, smart TVs or even smart cars. They are giving people the confidence to manage and improve their day-to-day lives including health. Wearable and home-monitoring devices provide an enhanced solution for those suffering from long-term illnesses in a world of increased awareness. We are on the verge of a medical device revolution where people can not only check the status of their illness in real-time, but also understand the severity of it.
The traditional face-to-face healthcare model has transitioned into something far more agile and connected. We’ve seen 10 years of progress in the last two years during the pandemic with the advent of tele-consultation medicine. The medical device market has been valued at $28.24 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $94.32 billion by 2026.1 The industry expects to see increased activities, investments as well as new products in remote monitoring and patient wearables in the coming years.
Talking about diabetes, daily monitoring can hurt. Thanks to advances in wearable technologies, today there are continuous glucose monitoring devices and systems that offer a compact medical system that continuously monitor your glucose levels in real-time. Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre is one such wearable glucose monitoring sensor where people suffering from diabetes have seen visible results. The device has fundamentally changed how people take charge of their glucose management. This breakthrough technology is associated with improved glucose control, a decrease in HbA1c and more time in the target glucose range – leading to better overall disease and health management.
Monitoring glucose levels in Real Time
Be it sleeping, swimming, exercising or even showering, a wearable glucose monitoring sensor provides accurate, stable, and continuous glucose readings without any need for fingerpicking calibrations. The device includes a coin-sized sensor, which once placed on your arm monitors glucose levels all day. A quick scan of the sensor with a reader provides a real-time glucose reading on-demand and a complete picture of a person’s glucose levels, enabling meaningful lifestyle and therapy interventions. The sensor records glucose levels every 15 minutes and keeps an eight-hour log of the results.
Increased Time in Range (TIR)
TIR is the time each day a person spends in their target glucose range. It is the result of the growing adoption of continuous glucose monitoring systems, that enable users to check their glucose readings more frequently, which is associated with greater time in glucose range. TIR captures the time a person spends in their target glucose range, often shown as a bar graph.
Improving treatment & revolutionizing patient care
The data generated by wearable glucose monitoring sensor’s like FreeStyle Libre is detailed and designed to provide actionable trends and patterns that help make better decisions about health, such as adjustments to the diet or insulin intake. People will often be surprised that foods that they assumed were good for their glucose levels may be causing spikes in their glucose levels. Continuous glucose monitors help one understand the types of food and exercise that are best for him or her depending on the readings. The reader’s snapshots can reveal if a person is experiencing hypoglycemic trends (low glucose levels) patterns or hyperglycemic trends (high glucose levels), which can aid in choosing the right diabetes management. It enables users to share glucose data with their healthcare team remotely, which helps them with appropriate medical advice and care, even without an in-person visit.
Under self-management, finding a tool that suits your understanding of glucose levels is of utmost importance. Using these tools, leads people to be equally involved in making informed decisions be it related to lifestyle modifications or dietary control, thus increasing the level of self-care and responsibility among patients. Clinical and real-world data show that FreeStyle Libre is associated with improved glucose control, fewer hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia events, lower HbA1C, fewer hospitalizations and improved quality of life1.
With innovative technologies like continuous glucose monitoring devices combined with appropriate diabetes care regimens, the journey from diagnosis to management can become easier to navigate. Today, technology is creating new possibilities for management of chronic conditions such as diabetes by empowering people and giving them the tools to take control of their condition and their life, anytime, anywhere.
Disclaimer: The Information mentioned in this article is only suggestive /for patient education and shall not be considered as a substitute for doctor’s advice or recommendations from Abbott. Please consult your doctor for more information.
